Survival: Story of a Ninja
by sy62697
Summary: This is a fanfic I'm hoping will be kinda long :X It's an OC story pairing with Kankuro and a slight Sasori. The OC is Pein's sister  cliche, I know, but it makes for an interesting story .    Ratings in chapters will vary, but for now, please enjoy
1. The Beginning

Darkness covered the land, turning everything a deep shade of blue as it blended into the dotted sky; everything except the fire that burned brightly against the cool shades and crisp air, bringing a sense of life and death into the night. Rolling hills that used to be lined with flourishing neighborhoods and gardens now lay neck and neck with the ground, smoldering in their fiery dismay. Where once great stone structures resigned is now carpeted in their rubble. Only a few stronger built houses stand, some with gaping holes on the sides, questioning how the structure is still standing; others still remain mostly intact, with nearly half of their side missing from explosive attacks. This is how it all started…

Running desperately, two young children, 4 and 7, attempted to outrun the two full grown ninja chasing after them. Their peaceful village was under attack, and the enemy wanted no survivors. The older of the siblings, the brother named Pein, held his younger sister's hand tightly as he led the way, the two angry men getting even closer to them. As the cold wind pricked the little girl's face like needles, she panted heavily as her lungs burned violently.

"Get back here, you little brats!" one of the two yelled at them, extending a hand to reach out and grab the girl. If they got the two, perhaps they could be taken prisoner. As the man looked up, he saw the two were getting riskily close to a forest. If the siblings reached the forest, they would surely lose them. Cursing under his breath, the man picked his speed, seeing a rather large tree only a few ten yards away.

"Nii-san!" the little violet haired girl cried, feeling a hand getting dangerously close to her shoulder. Just as she felt the heat of the hand by her head, she quickly dodged to the side, barely missing his grip. This was the perfect moment they needed to get all the time they needed. They quickly ran past the tree standing tall against the cool air, and into the thick shrubs that grew at the base of the trees. As they ran into the green foliage, they stopped, panting heavily as the back of their legs burned like the fire of their home. Tears streaked their cold, innocent faces, and smudges of ash on some places.

"I'm scared," the little girl mumbled, huddling up to her brother as the two ninja ran by them without noticing them in the flourishing plants. The older brother, his orange hair messy and lifeless, wrapped his weak arms around his little sister.

"It's ok, Murusaki. They're gone now," he assured in a soft voice, poking his head out to see that the men were long gone. In his mind, he knew they should stay where they were until morning, but his heart longed to return to their house still barely intact, and search for their parents. He remembers quite vividly how the parents forced them out the door, screaming at them to run as fast as they could. He wondered… Did they make it out safely? Were they alright? Or were they killed along with everyone else? His soft turquoise eyes looking down, he held his sobbing sister tightly. "In the morning, we'll go back and try to find Mom and Dad," he assured, helping her get comfortable against the nearest tree, using the plants as a source of warmth and safety.

The next morning, the little girl woke up to the smell of fresh dew on the grass she slept on and the dull smell of bark from the tree. She scrunched her nose at the intrusion of ash trying to avert her from the happy feelings of the forest. Standing up in her soaked and messy dress that her mother had made her, she rubbed the sleep from her robin blue eyes. At the sound of a bird singing high above the tree in front of her, she smiled softly, thinking of how wonderful it would be to live as a bird; you would never face extreme danger, and you could always just fly out of harm's way. With a final look down at her sleeping brother, she took it upon herself to start the way back home.

'If I find Mommy and Daddy, Nii-san will be so happy,' she thought to herself, smiling as she crawled through the green foliage. Before long, her knees were covered in soft mud from the morning's dew and grass stains on her yellow tinted summer dress; however, she had found her way out of the forest. In the orange morning light, she could see only a few houses left standing, most of which gained black marks from the fires. Dense smoke was still high in the air, she could smell it.

Suddenly a hand came down on her shoulder, and she quickly turned around to see her angry brother. "What were you doing? You could have gotten lost or killed!" he protested. Murusaki stuck out her lower lip in apology as her head hung low.

"I'm sorry. I was going to find Mommy and Daddy," she spoke softly. Pein sighed softly, letting his hand drop.

"We will, but you can't go anywhere without me, not with all these creeps hanging around," he explained to her. She nodded in agreement.

After nearly two hours of searching, they couldn't find a single person. Most of their possessions had been destroyed in the fire, except for a few glass ornaments and a necklace that their mother often wore to special events. Murusaki kept the necklace, putting it into her dress pocket. This was something special to her, so she made sure it was snug in her pocket. Most of their food was also burnt to ashes.

After another few minutes of wandering, they found it useless to continue searching, until Murusaki pointed out two figures approaching them. Filled with new found hope, they watched the figures closely, seeing that they were an elderly man and woman in thick robes.

"Dear, it must have took an army to cause this much damage," the woman spoke.

"I'm sure no one has survived," the old man replied.

"Wait, I think I see two children," came the woman's voice, squinting her eyes at Murusaki and Pein. "It is! There's two children over there! Hello?" she asked to them after exclaiming to the man.

"Hello," Pein replied, leading his sister towards the elder couple, knowing they could do no harm. He then noticed their odd clothing, and concluded they were not from the village. "Where are you from?" he asked.

"I'm from the Hidden Rain Village," the woman spoke, "and he is from the Hidden Sand," she motioned to the man. The man looked down at Murusaki carefully.

"How did you two survive?" he asked, knowing by their clothes and dirtied faces they were in the disaster.

"We ran," the boy explained. The elder woman nodded, and turned to the man, whispering something in his ear. To her, she could sense deep angry inside the boy, and she sensed a feeling of softness in the girl, yet she had a gut feeling the two were filled with potential. If they stayed together for much longer, they were sure to grow weak. Independence is key to survival. A nod finally came from the older man as he continued to look down at the girl. Both elders knew strong trainers who would be essential to helping the two, especially now without their parents.

"You two are very lucky," the woman finally spoke to them. "Please, come with us," she urged, motioning for them to follow. "We'll take care of you."

They walked along the hills, until the grass turned into dense forest. Murusaki gazed empty mindedly around at the birds that kept flying around them. It wasn't long before she grew tired, as well as her brother. The elders saw this as they approached the forking in the paths, each to a different village. They gave a silent nod and agreed to meet up again before the older man carried Murusaki one way, and the woman with Pein in another.

The smell of dirt filled her nose as she stirred. Strange voices were heard around her as she opened her striking blue eyes, now somewhat brighter. Suddenly they widened as she saw she was in some kind of mud made house, with many elders around her, all wearing a type of white robe. Her eyes scanned frantically, her brother was nowhere in sight. She called his name, getting louder until one of the elders walked up to her.

"Your brother is with another group, my dear child. We brought you here to keep you safe."

"Nii-san would never hurt me," she protested. She then jumped off the small bed, getting to her feet. Immediately her head grew light and she wobbled, unable to keep herself up, and fell to her hands and knees.

"Don't struggle. Here, we have brought you some food," another spoke more softly, helping her up and showing her the tray of healthy foods. She cautiously took a bite of an apple; it wasn't long before the tray was emptied. It had been nearly two days since she'd eaten anything.

"We know that you may miss your brother, so we found some kids who might be able to become your friends," a very old man spoke hoarsely. As he stepped aside, she saw a little girl about her brother's age with blonde hair in four small pigtails and a boy about her age with spiky brown hair and a cheesey smile. "Meet Temari and Kankuro," he explained.

Temari immediately walked up to Murusaki, holding her hand out for her to shake, and she did so weakly. "Hi! I'm Temari, this is my brother. We have another little brother, but he's too young to walk," she smiled brightly. "How about you?" she asked, and now Kankuro was beside her.

"I only have one brother," she spoke. "He's as old as you I think," she finished. "I-it's nice to meet you."

The elders smiled at the cute happenings, and left contently, all except one whose face was partially shadowed with his hat.

"That's cool. I'm gonna be a ninja someday!" Temari exclaimed. "And you should too. We could be ninjas together," she happily shadow punched the area at her side. Murusaki smiled a little; she seemed fun, but not the same as her brother. Looking over a bit, she saw Kankuro staring down at his feet, his face a little red, so she thought he was coming down with a sickness.

"Yes, Murusaki, you should become a ninja. And I have the perfect person to help you," he spoke, tilting his hat up a bit. "Follow," he spoke, turning to leave the room. "Temari, Kankuro, you stay here."

After following the man to an office type room, he gave her some new clothes. As she was removing the dress to change into a t-shirt and a simple pair of pants that seemed like cargo pants, she looked through her dress pocket. Her eyes widened greatly as she felt nothing; she had lost the necklace. She quickly tossed the dress aside looking around as she figured it must have fallen out when she took it off, but it was nowhere to be seen. Her heart raced, she had to find it! She then looked around the room, following her steps into the room, finding nothing.

Heart broken, she returned to the man in his office, her head low. He asked what was wrong, and she explained how she had lost her mother's necklace. He then promised Murusaki that he would find it for her, as long as she did the training he asked. Desperate for any way of getting the necklace back, she agreed. He then led her to the outskirts of town, to a small shack that looked as if it should be torn down. The man knocked on the door, and a man in his 50s walked out, in the middle of shaving a thick goatee. While the two talked, Murusaki looked around at the village. It was completely made of sand, and seemed to be in the middle of nowhere.

"Ok, Murusaki. This man will take care of you and teach you once you're old enough to fight," he smiled. "Don't worry, he's actually really nice, and has a good sense of humor too," he assured. "I'll come check on you tomorrow," he spoke before starting to walk away.

"Wait!" she called. "Will I see Temari and Kankuro too?" she asked. Smiling brightly, the man nodded.

"As much as you want," he promised before turning and walking away.

"Hm, how old are you again?" the man asked, letting her into his small shack to finish his shaving. He disappeared into a room with the door open to hear the girl.

"Four," she told him, looking around.

"Still pretty young, aren't ya?" he commented, and finally came back out, looking as if he'd shaved off 20 years instead of a thicket of hairs. "I'm Kago Tsukasa, but just call me Kago," he smiled down to her. His smiled seemed happy, and full of life. "Hey, wanna cookie?" he asked, walking over to a jar on his counter. Murusaki smiled as he pulled out a beautiful looking cookie.

"Please," she nodded, walking over to him. Kago smirked.

"Gotta reach for it," he held it just out of arm's reach. Murusaki jumped up, and grabbed it with a small giggle. Maybe this wouldn't be too bad. She nibbled on the delicious cookie, and it was soon gone. "Now, let's get you set up," he spoke, walking back to another room. From the outside, the shack looked small, but it also hid many rooms, one of which contained stairs leading down underground. He showed her to a new room, and promised he would eventually gather some more things for her. Murusaki smiled, feeling how soft the bed was. Even though her brother was still missing, she had a feeling that this stay with Kago wouldn't be regretted.

This is how her new life began…


	2. The Start of Something Beautiful

Ratings:

It had been nearly four years since she was old enough to train, and now she is nearly 13 of age, having trained for almost five years. It may seem a bit extreme, but it was necessary for her to become stronger. Kago taught her everything from mastering her blocking and attacks, to using her ninjutsus and taijutsus, to being able to use anything as a weapon, to learning basic survival skills, and finally to healing. Murusaki discovered she had a natural healing talent; she just needed to improve on those skills and stretch their limits. She was able to heal minor things with a special chakra, and there were two ways to create that chakra; however, she only discovered the first way and that was using it as a jutsu.

Panting heavily, she held her hands up, balled into fists. Beads of sweat streaked her face, now more mature looking, and a few strands of her violet bangs stuck to it. Her hair now parted from the middle of her forehead, the left side much more curved and shaped to her face, and the right much more straight and jagged. Only a small tuff of hair on top, sticking out to the left, was set apart from her smooth hair, now slightly wet from perspiration. Soft pants left her parted lips, her chest heaving up and down in a smooth rhythm. Her stance, legs spread at shoulder length, told that she was ready for anything.

Just as she took a deep breath, Kago attacked her, sending a fist aimed at her face at high speeds. Murusaki's eyes grew wide as she quickly ducked down, holding her arms up in a crossed shape to defend her face as his other fist came flying down on the joining point of her wrists. With a small cackle, Kago quickly used his leg to sweep her to the side, knocking her completely off her balance and sending her skidding down on the ground. As she rolled a bit before finally coming to a stop, she felt new pain in her left knee and elbow. No thanks to her new outfit; a deep blue tube top with glowing aqua designs on the sides, a sleeveless, thin that stopped at her belly button, and matching blue spandex shorts under a long cloth that covers the back and front, very familiar to Sakura's. Kago explained that it would help her move more freely, and perhaps bring out some of her outgoing nature. Ever since she was brought to the Hidden Sand, the only people she ever spoke to were Kago, Temari, Kankuro, and often Gaara. Kago made it a secret mission to break that shy streak, and make her able to speak with anyone. It would only help her in the long run.

Back to the situation, Kago watched as Murusaki struggled, pushing herself up with her arm as she layed on her side, propping up on one elbow. "Make sure you keep your feet firm to the ground," Kago smiled, walking over and helping her to her feet. "You're done for today. Go get cleaned up," he told her with that fatherly smile. Returning his soft smile, she walked back into that old shack she'd been in for almost 9 years. She quickly jumped in the shower, scrubbed off the blood and healed the scabs, and washed her body from the sweat and sand. When she was done, she got in a clean pair of her attire. Kago had a ready supply, and he made daily trips to the cleaners for her every other day. After she was ready, she waved goodbye to Kago and made her way to a ritual stop; the Sand Sibling's house.

She never needed to knock, Temari assured her to just walk in. Nearly every day Murusaki had come by to visit the siblings, and often times she would stay the night with them, especially now that Temari was getting a bit older.

"Murusaki!" Temari exclaimed, quickly pulling the surprised girl into her bedroom. "I have the cutest outfit for you to wear!" she began, pulling out a few shirts and skirts. "And yesterday I got some new makeup for us to try," she went on without paying much attention to anything.

"Um, I just took a shower, and I don't think Kago would like it if I wore makeup," she told the hyper blonde. Temari gave her a teasing look.

"That old man probably has more makeup on his face after he gets out of the bar then I'll ever put on you," she joked, tossing a frilly skirt and tight tank top onto the bed for Murusaki while she picked out her own. "Now hurry and change," she urged, turning to face away from her as they both quickly changed. It wasn't long before they were doing each other's makeup and hair. Temari used the excuse that she needed to find something to wear to their annual festival that was coming up. Last year Murusaki was ditched by Temari and Gaara, leaving her with Kankuro for most of the night.

"So, you're 13 now?" Temari asked, giving Murusaki a strange look. She nodded hesitantly. "Kankuro will be turning 14 before too long ya know," she smirked, causing Murusaki to blush a little. "That means you two can dance at the festival!" she cheered.

Murusaki gave her an odd look. "But what makes you think he'll _want_ to dance with me?" she asked, her eyebrows knitting together softly. Something in Temari's eyes gleamed. In her mind, she remembered the moment after Murusaki left, she spoke with Kankuro about dancing with her, and Kankuro asked the exact same question.

"I think he will, after he sees you in that super cute outfit!" she smiled proudly. "You'll be irresistible," she grinned, "in fact, we might have to have Kankuro there to make sure other guys don't try anything."

"I'm only 13," Murusaki reassured her.

"Yeah, 13 and a master of martial arts," Temari joked, folding her arms over her chest while raising a single eyebrow. "I've seen you train, and you train better than our teacher," she commented with a grim smile. Temari knew of her skills, and she was no amateur; though, she had been training for almost ten years.

Murusaki shook her head, "I'll never be that good," she assured. Standing up, Murusaki stretched her arms a bit, standing to look in front of a mirror. Her head turned to look at the door as it slowly opened to reveal Kankuro, his eyes suddenly growing wide.

"Kankuro, perfect timing," Temari grinned, pulling him into the room forcibly. Kankuro was a bit surprised, looking over to Murusaki, where Temari stopped in front of her. "Tell me, what do you think?" she asked her brother.

Over the years, Kankuro had somewhat gotten over his shy state with maturity. A grin crossed his lips. "Skirt's not short enough," he commented, looking over Murusaki's features, noticing how well that small outfit she wore on a daily basis helped her skin become a little smoother color as she tanned under the sun. "And I would put some kind of jacket over that tank top, she'll probably get cold since the festival's at night this year." Temari spent the next few moments searching for a thin white jacket, and it went quite well with her top. It had an elegant look to it, and seemed to be made of a soft wool-like fabric. Kankuro gave his silent approval with a nod before smiling and leaving the room quietly.

After their little fashion planning, things returned to their usual goings; Temari and Murusaki would prank Kankuro, he'd try and get back at them but never return their "favor", Gaara ignoring everyone, and then it was time for bed. Temari and Murusaki stayed up a little later than usual in Temari's rather large bed, talking about guys and things they wanted to do during the festival. Murusaki explained how she didn't want to be alone with Kankuro again, even though she enjoyed it, yet Temari did not listen to her requests, for in her mind she was thinking of all the excuses to do what Murusaki did not want to.

Kankuro lay awake in his own bed, thinking of the festival coming up soon; would he be with Murusaki again? Or would he lose her in the crowd, or even more likely, have Temari whisk here away to meet some charming man? No, he couldn't think like that, he cared too much for her safety to let something like that happen to her, after being friends with her for so long. He truly wanted to get to know her better, and be more than just a friend to her. His thoughts beginning to grow slower, his eyes grew heavy before closing, finally falling into his deep sleep.

In the morning, Murusaki woke up long before Temari, and quickly got back into her normal clothes, she usually borrows Temari's extra pajamas, and fixing her hair. Afterwards, she left the blonde's room and walked towards the door; however, she was stopped dead in her tracks by a hand on her shoulder. Quickly turning around, she relaxed when she was it was only Kankuro.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked with a smug grin. Murusaki knew this grin and was becoming quite familiar with it.

"I was heading back home, Kago is probably looking for me," she explained. For some reason he had been getting more and more persistent about her training every day and being on time for it.

"Why not stay for a while? Have some breakfast before you leave," he insisted, leading her back towards the living room, sitting her down on the couch. "Here, I'll go make some," he have a genuine smile. He was always a good cook, and Murusaki decided some breakfast could only be for the better. While he cooked, she looked around the house at all the things she had seen before, only to look a little closer to the small details. She admired how the walls seemed to be engraved lightly with a beautiful design, even though it was still made of sand. Of all her years in the Hidden Sand, the only house that wasn't made of sand was the small, worn down shack Kago and her shared; it was made of wood, and a very old kind at that.

"So, are you going to the Genin Exams?" Kankuro asked from the kitchen, well, more like yelled. Not wanting to shout back and wake the others, she walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table, thinking about his question.

"Genin Exams?" she asked, never having heard of such a thing. Kago once said she was training for something big, could that be what he was talking about? Or was it something bigger?

"Yeah, Gaara, Temari, and I are all going to enter them," he explained, finishing up the cooked eggs, meat, and toast. He then set a plate for each of them, full of the aroma-filled breakfast. "All ninja do it at some point in time. And ours will be before the festival." At the sound of this, Murusaki felt a little more secure about these exams, if everyone else did them.

"I see," she began, "so they must be pretty easy," she concluded, and Kankuro gave a scrunched, half smile face.

"Well, it depends on how strong you are," he explained, his expression quickly melting into a happy one with gleaming eyes. "And I'm gonna pass it, no sweat," he emphasized by sweeping a proud hand in front of him; he always was so confident. Murusaki couldn't help but smile to him, glad that he could be so assured of his skills, it was a gift to possess.

"I hope you do well," she smiled gently to him, her eyes softening. It was true, she was starting to hold a spot for him in her small, fragile heart; though, that occupation wasn't big enough to consumer her entire being. Yet.

Then, Temari tiredly shuffled into the room, tiredly rubbing an eye, her blonde strands in a tangled, ratty mess, her bag slouched forward quite heavily for her normal posture. Kankuro saw her, his face starting to grow a little flushed as he switched his weight from one foot to the other uncomfortably; once again showing herself when he was alone with Murusaki. Temari's tired, drooping eyes shifted from Murusaki to Kankuro at a slow rate. A small grin peeled on her lips as she connected the dots.

"Well, I should probably be going," Murusaki quickly stood up, her plate cleaned. She then turned to Kankuro, bowing slightly before giving him a reassuring smile. "Thank you so much for the breakfast," she told him, turning back to the grinning blonde, "and thank you for inviting me. It was truly fun." With that, she turned on her heel and walked to the door. Behind her, she could hear Temari and Kankuro giving their goodbyes before beginning a casual conversation.

She was nearly to her home, running at a casual pace to improve her breathing; however, she noticed that the door to the small wooden shack was cracked open enough for an animal to crawl through. Quickening her pace, she abruptly stopped in front of the door, her hand on the handle. Something didn't feel right. Slowly, she opened the door, cringing at the ear-splitting shriek it released as she did. She might as well just have busted through the door and began screaming to give away her position.

When the door was completely opened, she looked inside to see nothing out of the ordinary, other than it was a bit darker than normal. Quietly, she stepped into the room, moving to the side that had the cough, where she stopped at the foot of the leather couch. Her eyes scanned, her heart raced, her breathing quickened. There was a sudden movement to her side, and she quickly turned to see Kago standing before her, leaning against the couch.

"Hey, squirt. You ready for those exams?" he chuckled, his voice as scraggy as his beard. He always had a fairly deep voice, but one that still showed fondness and gentle feelings.

"I hope I am," she returned. "And I hope I will be back in time for the festival," she added. Kago simply stood straight, rolling his eyes a bit as he turned to the door.

"You will, don't worry. Geez, women and their needs," he shook his head a bit as he stepped into the blistering sunlight, Murusaki following him.

"Now, how do we get to the exams?" Murusaki asked him. He looked down at her, running his fingers though his hair in a tired fashion.

"You'll just have to follow," he grinned. Immediately, he broke into a dead run down to the gates of the Hidden Sand. Shouting a profanity at the old trickster, Murusaki quickly followed him, not knowing what to expect.


End file.
